This website is about different species of "big cats" (Felidae).
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Leopard
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 92 - 183 cm |
| Tail Length | 66 - 102 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 60 - 70 cm |
| Weight | 31 - 72 kg (male) 21 - 43 kg (female) |
The leopard (Panthera pardus) has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Today, eight subspecies are recognised in its wide range in Africa and Asia. It is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas. It is an opportunistic predator, hunting mostly ungulates and primates. It relies on its spotted pattern for camouflage as it stalks and ambushes its prey, which it sometimes drags up a tree. It is a solitary animal outside the mating season and when raising cubs. Females usually give birth to a litter of 2 - 4 cubs once in 15 - 24 months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at the age 2 - 2.5 years.
Lion
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 160 - 208 cm |
| Tail Length | 72 - 94 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 100 - 120 cm |
| Weight | 160 - 225 kg (male) 110 - 144 kg (female) |
The lion (Panthera leo) is native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans. The lion inhabits grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight.
Jaguar
| Conservation Status | Near Threatened |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 112 - 185 cm |
| Tail Length | 45 - 75 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 57 - 81 cm |
| Weight | 56 - 96 kg |
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on the sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises, and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of mammalian prey between the ears to deliver a fatal blow to the brain. Today, the jaguar's range extends from the Southwestern United States across Mexico and much of Central America, the Amazon rainforest and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. It inhabits a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest, wetlands and wooded regions. It is adept at swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush apex predator.
Tiger
| Conservation Status | Endangered |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 189 - 300 cm (male) 146 - 177 cm (female) |
| Tail Length | 72 - 109 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 80 - 100 cm |
| Weight | 100 - 261 kg (male) 75 - 177 kg (female) |
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat to support its requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years and then become independent, leaving their mother's home range to establish their own. Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated from Western and Central Asia, the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas of Southeast and South Asia and China. What remains of the range where tigers still roam free is fragmented, stretching in spots from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indochina and a single Indonesian island, Sumatra.
Clouded Leopard
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 69 - 108 cm |
| Tail Length | 61 - 91 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 50 - 55 cm |
| Weight | 12 - 23 kg |
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor. The clouded leopard is a solitary cat. Early accounts depict it as a rare, secretive, arboreal, and nocturnal inhabitant of dense primary forest.
Caracal
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 71 - 108 cm |
| Tail Length | 18 - 34 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 40 - 50 cm |
| Weight | 8 - 19 kg |
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterized by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, relatively short tail, and long canine teeth. Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are lighter with small reddish markings. Typically nocturnal, the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. It is territorial, and lives mainly alone or in pairs. The caracal is a carnivore that typically preys upon birds, rodents, and other small mammals. Both sexes become sexually mature by the time they are one year old and breed throughout the year. Gestation lasts between two and three months, resulting in a litter of one to six kittens. Juveniles leave their mothers at the age of nine to ten months, though a few females stay back with their mothers. The average lifespan of captive caracals is nearly 16 years.
Serval
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 67 - 100 cm |
| Tail Length | Around 30 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 54 - 62 cm |
| Weight | 9 - 18 kg |
The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. It is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size. The serval is a solitary carnivore and active both by day and at night. It preys on rodents, particularly vlei rats, small birds, frogs, insects, and reptiles, using its sense of hearing to locate prey. Both sexes establish highly overlapping home ranges of 10 to 32 km2, and mark them with feces and saliva. Mating takes place at different times of the year in different parts of their range, but typically once or twice a year in an area. After a gestational period of two to three months, a litter of one to four is born. The kittens are weaned at the age of one month and begin hunting on their own at six months of age. They leave their mother at the age of around 12 months.
Ocelot
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 55 - 100 cm |
| Tail Length | 30 - 45 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 40 - 50 cm |
| Weight | 8 - 18 kg (male) 7 - 12 kg (female) |
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. It is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. It is typically active during twilight and at night and tends to be solitary and territorial. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months, the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after which they leave to establish their own home ranges.
Lynx
| Conservation Status | Least Concern Endangered (Iberian) |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 71 - 129 cm |
| Tail Length | 11 - 30 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 48 - 70 cm |
| Weight | 8 - 30 kg |
A lynx is is any of the four extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild cat genus Lynx. Lynx have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie, although this is often not visible. The smallest species are the bobcat and the Canada lynx, while the largest is the Eurasian lynx, with considerable variations within species. The lynx inhabits high altitude forests with dense cover of shrubs, reeds, and tall grass. Although this cat hunts on the ground, it can climb trees and can swim swiftly, catching fish. The lynx is usually solitary, although a small group of lynx may travel and hunt together occasionally. Mating takes place in the late winter and once a year the female gives birth to between one and four kittens. The gestation time of the lynx is about 70 days. The young stay with the mother for one more winter, a total of around nine months, before moving out to live on their own as young adults. The lynx creates its den in crevices or under ledges.
Cougar
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 107 - 137 cm |
| Tail Length | 63 - 95 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 60 - 90 cm |
| Weight | 53 - 72 kg (male) 34 - 48 kg (female) |
The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the puma, mountain lion, catamount, or panther, is a large cat native to the Americas, second in size only to the stockier jaguar. Cougar coloring is plain but can vary greatly across individuals, and even siblings. The coat is typically tawny, but it otherwise ranges from silvery-grey to reddish with lighter patches on the underbody, including the jaws, chin, and throat. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas. The cougar is largely solitary by nature and considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. It is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer, but it also hunts smaller prey, such as rodents. Cougars are territorial and live at low population densities. Individual home ranges depend on terrain, vegetation and abundance of prey. While large, it is not always the apex predator in its range.
Cheetah
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 110 - 150 cm |
| Tail Length | 60 - 80 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 67 - 94 cm |
| Weight | 21 - 72 kg |
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The cheetah is capable of running at 93 to 104 km/h; it has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in northwestern, eastern and southern Africa and central Iran. It lives in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara, and hilly desert terrain. The cheetah lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male "coalitions", and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females. The cheetah is active during the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg, and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles.
Pallas's Cat
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 46 - 65 cm |
| Tail Length | 21 - 31 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 30 - 35 cm |
| Weight | 2.5 - 4.5 kg |
The Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) is a small wild cat with long and dense light grey fur, rounded ears set low on the sides of the head, and long bushy tail. It is well camouflaged and adapted to the cold continental climate in its native range, which receives little rainfall and experiences a wide range of temperatures. The Pallas's cat's range extends from the Caucasus eastward to Central Asia, Mongolia and adjacent parts of Dzungaria and the Tibetan Plateau. It inhabits rocky montane grasslands and shrublands, where the snow cover is below 15 - 20 cm. It finds shelter in rock crevices and burrows, and preys foremost on lagomorphs and rodents. The female gives birth to between two and six kittens in spring.
Fishing Cat
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 57 - 78 cm |
| Tail Length | 20 - 30 cm |
| Shoulder Height | Around 40 cm |
| Weight | 8 - 17 kg (male) 5 - 9 kg (female) |
The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. It has a deep yellowish-grey fur with black lines and spots. Two stripes are on the cheeks, and two above the eyes running to the neck with broken lines on the forehead. The background color of its fur varies between individuals from yellowish tawny to ashy grey, and the size of the stripes from narrow to broad. The fur on the belly is lighter than on the back and sides. The short and rounded ears are set low on the head, and the back of the ears bear a white spot. The tail is short, less than half the length of head and body, and with a few black rings at the end. The fishing cat is strongly associated with wetlands, inhabiting swamps and marshy areas around oxbow lakes, reed beds, tidal creeks and mangrove forests; it seems less abundant around smaller, fast-moving watercourses. Most records are from lowland areas. It can swim long distances, even under water. Adult males and females without dependent young are solitary.
Black-Footed Cat
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|
| Body Length | 35 - 52 cm |
| Tail Length | 15 - 20 cm |
| Shoulder Height | Less than 25 cm |
| Weight | 1.6 - 2.45 kg (male) 1.1 - 1.65 kg (female) |
The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is the smallest wild cat in Africa. Despite its name, only the soles of its feet are black or dark brown. With its bold small spots and stripes on the tawny fur, it is well camouflaged, especially on moonlit nights. It bears black streaks running from the corners of the eyes along the cheeks, and its banded tail has a black tip. The black-footed cat is endemic to Southern Africa. It inhabits open, arid savannas and semi-arid shrubland in the Karoo and the southwestern Kalahari with short grasses, low bush cover, and scattered clumps of low bush and higher grasses. The black-footed cat is nocturnal and usually solitary, except when females care for dependent kittens. It spends the day resting in hollow termite mounds and dense cover in unoccupied burrows. It digs vigorously to extend or modify these burrows for shelter. After sunset, it emerges to hunt. It seeks refuge at the slightest disturbance and often uses termite mounds for cover or for bearing its young. When cornered, it defends itself fiercely.
Domestic Cat
| Conservation Status | Domesticated |
|---|---|
| Body Length | Around 46 cm |
| Tail Length | Around 30 cm |
| Shoulder Height | 23 - 25 cm |
| Weight | 4 - 5 kg |
The cat (Felis catus), commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae. Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. Domestic cats are bred and shown at events as registered pedigreed cats, a hobby known as cat fancy. Animal population control of cats may be achieved by spaying and neutering, but their proliferation and the abandonment of pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, contributing to the extinction of bird, mammal and reptile species.
Ready for a challenge about the cats?
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Which species is NOT at vulnerable status?
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Which species is the fastest land animal?
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Which species is the smallest wild cat in Africa?
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Which species does not live in Asia?
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Which species has the longest legs relative to its body size?
Challenge Completed!
Leopard
Lion
Jaguar
Tiger
Clouded Leopard
Caracal
Serval
Ocelot
Lynx
Cougar
Cheetah
Pallas's Cat
Fishing Cat
Black-Footed Cat
Domestic Cat
Main included information is from Wikipedia and modified pictures are from general Internet resources. Copyright belongs to the original creators. Please note that the distribution information in the map page is not accurate and cannot be used as references.
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